Counter.



Ptenteii In.' 7,v |902, H. R. HEAL. courues.

(Application led 15, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNiTnn' Srarns ATENT @erica HARRY R. HEAL, OF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

COUNTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 690,424, dated `.'l'anuary 7, 1902.

Application filed October 15, 1961. Serial No. 78,719. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, HARRY R. HEAL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Camden, in the county of Camden and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Counters for Printing- Presses and other Purposes; and I do declare -the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention -relatesto improvements in counting mechanism for printing-presses and other` purposes wherever a registration of mechanical results or action may be required.

The objects of the invention are, first, to provide a mechanism or device of a simplified, effective, and inexpensive construction for automatically counting, registering, and indicating the number of impressions made by a printing-press, and, second, to provide a mechanism of the kind named and for the purposes intended wherein the use of gearings heretofore commonly employed to connect successively-actuated indicating disks v is avoided. v

With these objects in view'the invention consists in the novel construction of parts and their arrangement and aggroupment in operative combination, as will be hereinafter fully described and the novelty thereof particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

I have Afully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, forming` a part of this specication, and wherein- Figure 1 is avertical sectional view through the casing and face view of the counting-disks,

perspective of one of the pacity to contain the operating mechanism vand is formed with perforated ears 2, by which it may be secured to a support. The end walls of the casing 1 are form ed with bearings 3, in which is mounted a shaft 4, and in bearings 5 at the lo'wer portion of the casing is mounted a station-ary shaft 6 for the purposes hereinafter mentioned.

On the shaft 4, adjacent to one end of the casing, is pivotally mounted a lever 7, formed with a vertical arm S, to the end ofwhich is pivotally hung a pawl 16 to successively engage the teeth of a disk 10. To the outer end of the lever, which projects outward from the casing through a vertical slot a,

is connected the end of a spiral spring 18, to the lower end'of which is fastened a rod 18a, leading to and operatively connected to the press (not shown) in a well-known manner. To the end of an arm 7 of the lever, extending'rearward, is hung a weight 9, and adjacent to the end of the arm 7L is attached a cord 17, which is carried over a sheave 17a and continued to some convenient point for manipulation, the object being that when the cord is released the weight will carry the lever down to release the pawl and hold it out of engagement and prevent operation of the counting mechanism. The pressman then secures the cord toa convenient place, to remain until the lever is required to resume the count. The force of the weight also acts to return the pawl to normal position after the actuating-arm-of the lever has been drawn down. The movement of the lever is limited by stop-pins (not shown) placed in the wall of the casing at the desired points and projecting into the Walls of the arm 8.

On the shaft 4 are mounted a plurality of ratchet-disks 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. Five of these disks are shown; but it is apparent that a less number or greater may be used to accommodate the determined capacity of the counter. The initial or primary disk 10 is fixed to the shaft et by any proper means, while the others are held by frictional contact alone and arranged lto be turned with the shaft when the locking-pawl of any one of them is released. The teeth of each disk are consecutively numbered on their faces, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and at the hub or shaft opening are formed with annud ICO lar flanges or bosses 15, which when the disks are operatively mounted contact with each other and separate the side faces of adjacent disks.

On the fixed shaft 6 are fulcrumed a plurality of locking and tripping levers 19, each of which is slit longitudinally at the front portion to `form a pawl 2O and a downwardlycurved tripping-arm 2l. The levers 19 are provided with depending ears 22, perforated to engage over the shaft 6, and are held against lateral displacement by means of interposed and end washers 19a, as indicated in the drawlngs.

Each of the counting-disks is provided with a projecting pin 23, said pins being so relatively located as to engage with the curved tripping-arms 21 at predetermined intervals.

The operation of the counting mechanism may be stated as follows: The disks being arranged with the naughts at initial position,

then at each downward movement of the le# ver 7 through its connections with the press the pawl 16 turns the disk 10 the distance of one tooth and presents the initial number to visual observation at an opening in the case intended for that purpose, and when the disk 10 has made a full revolution the pin 23 in the disk contacts with the curved trip-arm 21, which lies below the disk 10, and releases the locking-pawl 2O from its engagement with disk 11 to permit that disk to turn the distance of one tooth. After the disk 11 has been turned one complete revolution its pin 23 will in like manner unlock the next adjacentdisk 12, and so on for all the disks.

The distinguishing feature of the invention is that the frictional contact of the disks with the shaftt is the only means foreffecting their rotation with the shaft when the period of their revolution arrives, and thus no supplemental gearing is required.

What I claim is- 1. In a counting-machine, a rotary shaft, a ratchet counting-disk fixedly mounted thereon and provided with numerals on the face of the ratchets, and a tripping-pin projected radially from one of the ratchets, an adjacent ratchet-disk mounted on the said shaft to turn therewith by frictional contact, a pawl to engage the second ratchet-disk and formed with a tripping-arm in the path of the pin in the first ratchet-disk.

2. In a counting-machine, the combination of a rotating shaft, a countingdisk having peripheral ratchets and numerals thereon, a pluralityaef counting-disks mounted on the shaft to turn therewith by frictional contact, and havingnumbers on the ratchets, pawls to lock each of the frictionally-mounted disks against rotation and to be released by means on the adjacent disk, substantially as described.

3.. In a press counting-machine, a rotating shaft, a ratchet-disk fixed on the shaft, a lever to intermittently rotate the disk the length of one ratchet at a time, a second ratchet-disk frictionally mounted on the shaft, a pawl to hold the second disk against rotation, and means on the iirst disk to release the pawl and permit the second disk to rotate with the shaft.

4. In a counting-machine, the ccrnbination with a casing formed with bearings, arotatable shaft journaled in said bearings, a count ing-disk ixedly mounted on said shaft, a plurality of disks held on the said shaft by frictional contact, and formed with peripheral ratchet-teeth, a lever mounted on said shaft and having an upwardlyextending arm, means for operating said lever to turn the disk the length of one ratchet, means for connecting said lever to a moving part of the machine, a pawl secured to said upwardly-extending arm to engage the ratchet of the first disk, a stationary shaft in the casing below the disks, pawls to lock the frictionallymounted disks on the rotatable shaft, and pins to release the pawls in determined succession.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY R. I-IEAL.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL BENNETT, C. RODNEY MAY. 

